Month: November 2012

By Sumi Thomas, Wordsmith at DropCap Media

Logging in to work early today, one of the other tabs I inevitably have open on my Google Chrome browser window includes Facebook. And then my Mashable email round-up of tech news brings me this stunner graphic, revealing the Internet habits of Americans. Apparently, Americans spend 18% of their online time on social media, mostly on Facebook (but of course!).So, are Indians any different? I doubt it… if you look at my average Net usage, at any given point of time, I always have a social media site open on a tab. Of course, most of the time it is for work, and sometimes it’s for the entertainment of my six-month-old who is hooked to Psy’s Gangnam Style (sigh!). Still, I am sure even on a personal note, I am a social media junkie, probably averaging many more hours than the Americans’ monthly 6.5 hours on Facebook.What I found really interesting in this graphic is that time spent socialising for real and ‘taking care of household members’ has taken a hit by more than 2 hours in total. Which means we would rather put our efforts into virtual relationships, which are easier to maintain (all you need is a Like button), than nurture real-life ties. Admittedly, real life can turn out to be a pain at times, with no easy options to Like, Comment, Share or even Unfriend. Real life is messy, because often things boil down to face-to-face talks and eye-to-eye confrontations. But conversely, doesn’t that make real life more fun as well? You tell us.